Sleeve ferrule



L. G. EHMANN SLEEVE FERRULE 'July 21, 1959 Filed Feb. 9. 1956 jzzvenior leAsl-e G. E/zmarzzz Q?) @m United States Patent Q SLEEVE Leslie G. Ehrnann, Portland, reg., assignor to 'Electric Steel Foundry Company, Portland, 0reg., a corporation ofOregon Application February 9, 1956, Serial No. 564,447

4 Claims. (Cl. 24-123) This invention relates to a sleeve ferrule, and more especially to sleeves having utility in securing wire rope eye splices by being brought into gripping engagement with the wire rope in swaging operations.

In forming loops or eyes at the ends of wire ropes, various techniques may be employed. In one technique, the wire rope is turned or looped upon itself so as to bring the free end thereof into contiguous relation with an area of the rope located a sufficient distance from the end so as to provide an eye or loop of the desired size. The free end of the rope is then secured in place by a sleeve that grips the end portion of the rope and the rope length contiguous therewith and anchors them together. Another technique is to form a loop or eye by means of a Farmers or Flemish splice. This technique involves unraveling an end portion of a multiple-strand wire rope and looping the strands in opposite directions so as to form an eye--the oppositely extending strands being then interwoven, and the ends of the strands being anchored by means of a sleeve swaged in place thereabout.

In structures of these types, the sleeves most generally are secured in position in swaging operations. Problems have been presented in prior art structures wherein the sleeves are swaged. One of the problems presented is caused by the swaging dies, and particularly the corners thereof which tend to dig into the sleeve, thereby making the outer sleeve surface rough and marred, and frequently leaving it with sharp edges and protuberauces. Another problem of importance caused by swaging the sleeves in place results as the swaging dies approach their most closed position. At such time, portions of the ferrule side walls bulge outwardly between the mating edges of the dies, with the result that the sleeve has considerable flash projecting outwardly from the opposite sides thereof. The flash of course is unwanted and must be removed before the rope can be sold and used. Further, the flash prevents complete closing of the swaging dies, whereby the eye splice does not have a rigid anchorage and is incapable of withstanding considerable force or weight applied thereto.

Customarily, the sleeves have a round configuration, and this in itself is disadvantageous in swaging operations, for when the swaging dies are brought together about such a round sleeve, the sleeve changes first to a generally oval shape and then returns to a substantially round shape. It is apparent that the less the metal of the sleeve is stressed in opposite directions, the more durable the sleeve is after the swaging operation. Therefore, the transition from round to oval to round seriously weakens the metal sleeves.

A need exists for a structure that overcomes the disadvantages set forth above, and it is accordingly an object of this invention to provide such a structure. Another object of the invention is that of providing an eye splice for wire rope in which a sleeve furnishes the splice anchorage by being securing in position through a swaging operation, but in which flash which normally occurs in such a swaging operation is eliminated. Still another object is that of providing a sleeve that is contoured so as to be more near the swaging die size, and wherein the swaging dies as a result do not dig into the sleeve during a swaging operation.

A further object of the invention is to provide a sleeve useful in the forming of eye splices in wire rope and the like, and that cross sectionally is oblong or generally in the form of a prolate cylinder through a substantial portion thereof, such contour being effective to prevent the corner portions of the swaging dies from digging into the sleeve in a swaging operation. Still a further object is to provide a sleeve ferrule of the character described having channels or recesses extending longitudinally along opposite sides thereof in generally parallel relation, the channels becoming substantially closed in a swaging operation and being effective to prevent flash from occurring in such an operation.

Yet a further object is in the provision of a sleeve particularly suited for use in securing the end of a wire rope equipped with a Farmers or Flemish splice to form an eye therein, the sleeve being oblong or oval through substantially its entire length, but tapering at one end into a cylindrical configurationthe tapered end being adapted to pass one thickness of a wire rope therethrough, and the oval portion of the sleeve being adapted to receive the spliced end of such a rope thereinthe tapered end of the sleeve being effective to maintain the generally oval shape of the sleeve in a swaging operation until the final stages of such an operation, wherein the sleeve is compressed to a solid round mass about the spliced end of the rope. Additional objects and advantages will become apparent as the specification develops.

An embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1 is a side view in elevation of an eye splice assembly embodying the invention; Figure 2 is a transverse sectional view taken along the line 2-2 of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a transverse sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of Figure 1; Figure 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of the ferrule and eye splice structure shown in Figure 1; Figure 5 is a side view in elevation of the sleeve ferrule and wire rope illustrated in Figure l, but showing the ferrule after a swaging operation; and Figure 6 is a transverse sectional view taken along the line 66 of Figure 5.

Figure 1 is an illustration of a wire rope that is designated generally with the numeral 10, and that is turned upon itself at one end to form a loop or eye, as shown at 11. In the forming of the loop 11, the end portion of the rope may be reversed in direction and brought into adjacent relation with a particular area of the rope spaced from the end thereof by a distance that will provide a loop of the desired size. Preferably, however, a Flemish or Farmers eyesplice is used, wherein the strands of the rope are unraveled or split into two groups, looped in opposite directions and interwoven, for a splice of this type is stronger. Such an eyesplice is shown in the drawing. Surrounding the adjacent portions of the rope is a sleeve ferrule 12. In Figure 1 the sleeve is shown prior to a swaging operation wherein it will be compressed to anchor the adjacent rope areas together.

Referring now to Figure 4 in particulanit is seen that the ferrule 12 is provided with an opening or bore 13 that extends longitudinally therethrough. The bore or opening 13 has a reduced end portion 14 and an enlarged end portion 15. Generally, the outer configuration of the ferrule corresponds substantially to the char acter of the opening 13, and the ferrule has a reduced end portion at the reduced end 14 of the opening of generally cylindrical cross section, and an enlarged portion corresponding with the enlarged section 15 of the opening and having a generally oval or oblong cross section.

The end portion 14 of the opening is of sufficient size so that the wire rope It) may pass freely therethrough. On'the other hand, the enlarged end portion 15' of the opening is of sufficient size so that a double thickness of the rope may be received therein. In the illustration given, the free end 16 of the rope extends along and in reverse direction with the rope body; and to accommodate this double thickness of rope, the enlarged end portion 15 of the opening is oblong or elongated cross sectionally so as to form generally a configuration such as that of a pro'late cylinder.

The sleeve 12 on each side thereof-that is to say, the sides of the terminii of the smallest dimension or "minor cross sectional axis of the opening 15is equipped with longitudinally extending channel or recess 17. The channels 17 are oriented so that the point of greatest depth thereof lies along the transverse or minor cross sectional axis of the sleeve.

In use of the sleeve 12, a wire rope 10 is passed through the bore or opening 13, as is shown in Figure 4, and the eyesplice made to form the loop 11 and the end portion 16 of the rope is positioned within the enlarged end portion 15 of the here, also as is seen in Figure 4. It is apparent that the sleeve may be moved along the rope 10 even after the end portion 16 is received therein so that an eye or loop of desired size is accurately determined if an actual splice formed by interweaving the rope strands is not made.

After the sleeve and rope have been thus positioned, the sleeve is placed between the jaws of a swaging die so that the top and bottom surfaces of the sleeve (as viewed in Figure 3) seat within the iaws. Thereafter. the jaws are moved together with sufficient force so as to compress the sleeve into a substantially solid mass about the rope. It is apparent that the sleeve in being compressed will be distorted into the substantially cylindrical form shown in Figures and 6. In the swaging operation, the sides of the sleeve do not bulge outwardly. for the recesses 17 are substantially closed by the metal in those side walls as that metal tends to be squeezed between the jaws.

The oblong shape of the sleeve 12 which tends to be preserved by the tapered cylindrical end thereof prevents the corners of the swaging dies from digging into the sleeve in a swaging operation because the radii of the sleeve is closer to the smaller radii of the swaging dies and is so maintained. Flash is prevented because the side walls of the sleeve are not squeezed outwardly between the jaws of the die, since instead the metal flows into the channels or recesses 17, tending to close them but maintaining the exterior of the sleeve free of flash and such other obstructions. Since there is no flash to prevent the die jaws from closing completely. a greater compressive force is applied directly to the adjacent areas of the wire rope, and these areas then are more firmlv anchored together with the result that the eyesplice is stronger. In strength tests that have been made, it was found that a wire rope would break before the splice and the sleeve would yield.

While in the drawing, a wire rope formed of a plurality of individual strands spirally Wound together is shown, it will be apparent that other forms of rope may be employed and that the sleeve ferrule may be used with ropes of diiferent diameter and ropes having various numbers of strands forming the same.

It is most apparent from an inspection of Figure i that the recesses or channels 17 do not extend from end to end of the ferrule 12, but terminate spaced distances from the ends thereof. It is particularly important that the channels 17 terminate a spaced distance from the enlarged end of the sleeve ferrule 12, for then when the sleeve is compressed in a swaging operation, it is found that-the side walls thereof fold in uniformly d to tightly grip the wire rope 10 and to form a smooth outer surface about the sleeve, as is seen most clearly in Figures 5 and 6. It is undesirable to have the channels 17 extend to the enlarged end of the sleeve ferrule, for when so extended there is a tendency for the enlarged end thereof to start to fold prematurely, with the result that the exterior of the sleeve is not smooth after a swaging operation, and a uniform gripping of the wire rope throughout the length of the sleeve is not provided.

While in the foregoing specification an embodiment of the invention has been described in considerable detail for the purpose of adequately disclosing the invention, it will be appreciated that those skilled in the art may vary such details considerably without departing from the spirit and principles of the invention.

I claim:

1. A sleeve ferrule adapted for use in securing wire rope eye splices, comprising an elongated sleeve having an opening extending therethrough for receiving a wire rope, said opening at one end thereof being reduced'in cross section for snugly receiving a single thickness of a wire rope and being enlarged at its other end for receiving a double thickness of such rope, said sleeve having a channel extending longitudinally along each side thereof at the ends of the smaller transverse dimension of the enlarged end of said opening, said channels terminating a spaced distance from the end of said sleeve providing the enlarged end portion of said opening.

2. In a sleeve ferrule, a sleeve having an opening adapted to pass a wire rope therethrough and to receive a double thickness of such rope within at least a portion thereof, said sleeve and said portion of said opening being generally oblong cross-sectionally, and being tapered at one end to a generally cylindrical configuration, the oblong portion of said sleeve being provided with longitudinally-extending channels on each side thereof, said channels extending from near the tapered portion toward the other end and terminating at a spaced distance from said other end, said channels being oriented along the outer surface of said sleeve and in substantially parallel relation, the points of said channels of greatest depth lying along the smaller cr0ss-sectional dimension of the oblong portion of the sleeve.

3. A sleeve ferrule adapted for use in the forming of a Flemish splice in wire rope, comprising a sleeve of generally cylindrical configuration at one end thereof and enlarging therefrom at an intermediate portion adjacent said one end into a generally oval configuration in transverse section thereby forming cross-sectional areas of varying dimensions, said sleeve having an opening extending therethrough corresponding generally in shape to that of said sleeve, said opening being adapted to pass a wire rope therethrough and in a portion adjacent one end thereof being adapted to receive a double thickness of such rope as would be derived from reweaving unravelled ends of strands of such rope, the exterior surfaces of said Oval configuration having the smaller cross-sectional dimension each being provided with a longitudinally-extending channel adapted to be substantially closed in a swaging operation anchoring the double thickness ofrope together, said channels extending from said intermediate portion toward the other end and terminating a spaced distance from said other end.

4. A sleeve ferrule comprising a swageable metal sleeve having a generally cylindrical cross-sectional configuration at one end and a generally oblong configuration at the otherend, channels in the exterior surfaces of the opposing side walls of said sleeve extending over only an intermediate portion of the sleeve and being positioned at the sides of the smaller cross-sectional dimension of the oblong end of the sleeve, said channels extending from near the conjunction of the oblong and cylindrical portions toward the end of the oblong portion and terminating at a spaced distance from said oblong end.

- I (References on following page) References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,793,293 Vamey Feb. 17, 1931 2,346,412 Bratz Apr. 11, 1944 2,558,553 Hansen et a1. June 26, 1951 2,621,385 Gilmore Dec. 16, 1952 6 FOREIGN PATENTS Great Britain Jan. 25, 1944 OTHER REFERENCES 

